2018 European Tour
The 2018 European Tour was the 47th season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe since its inaugural season in 1972.
| Duration | 23 November 2017 – 18 November 2018 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 47 |
| Most wins |  Matt Wallace (3) |
| Race to Dubai |  Francesco Molinari |
| Golfer of the Year | Francesco Molinari |
| Players' Player of the Year | Francesco Molinari |
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year |  Shubhankar Sharma |
| Graduate of the Year |  Erik van Rooyen |
← 2017 2019 → | |
Changes for 2018
There were changes to membership criteria with the reversal of some of the changes introduced for the 2017 season; the number of players gaining exemption from the final Race to Dubai standings reverted to the top 110 and the Access List was scrapped, largely replaced by a re-ranking system.[1]
The Race to Dubai points system was adjusted, with all prize money being converted into U.S. dollars before translating into points (1 point = 1 dollar) having previously been calculated after converting into euro. The points for all tournaments were also fixed prior to the start of the season, having previously been set during each tournament week, thereby negating any fluctuation in exchange rates.[1]
Tournament changes
- New tournaments: Oman Open.
- Returning tournaments (not part of the 2017 season): Open de España, AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open (missing from the 2017 schedule due to date change), Belgian Knockout (formerly the Belgian Open).
- No longer part of the schedule: Alfred Dunhill Championship (not held due to course renovations; returned for the 2019 season), Open de Portugal (dropped down to the Challenge Tour), Shenzhen International, Paul Lawrie Matchplay.
- Format change: the Lyoness Open (Austrian Open) became the Shot Clock Masters, with all shots subject to a strict time limit before incurring penalty strokes.
Schedule
The following table lists official events during the 2018 season.[2]
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Unofficial events
The following events were sanctioned by the European Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.
| Date | Tournament | Host country | Purse | Winners | OWGR points |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 Jan | EurAsia Cup | Malaysia | n/a |  Team Europe |
n/a | Team event |
| 6 May | GolfSixes | England | €1,000,000 |  Paul Dunne and Gavin Moynihan |
n/a | Team event |
| 12 Aug | European Golf Team Championships | Scotland | €550,000 |  Scott Fernández and Pedro Oriol (Men) |
n/a | Team event |
 Cajsa Persson and Linda Wessberg (Women) | ||||||
 Iceland (Team) | ||||||
| 30 Sep | Ryder Cup | France | n/a | Team Europe |
n/a | Team event |
| 25 Nov | ISPS Handa Melbourne World Cup of Golf | Australia | US$7,000,000 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Thomas Detry and Thomas Pieters |
n/a | Team event |
Location of tournaments
    Location of official tournaments of the 2018 European Tour in Europe. Major Championship Rolex Series event Regular event |
.svg.png.webp)    Location of official tournaments of the 2018 European Tour outside Europe. Major Championship World Golf Championship Rolex Series event Regular event
|
Race to Dubai
Since 2009, the Order of Merit has been titled as the Race to Dubai. It was based on money earned during the season and calculated using a points-based system with 1 U.S. dollar = 1 point and prize money for all tournaments being converted into points at the beginning of the season.
Final standings
Final top 10 players in the Race to Dubai:[3][4]
| Pos. | Player | Majors | WGCs | Rolex Series | Top 10s in other ET events | Tmts | Points and money | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mas | USO | Opn | PGA | WGC Mex |
WGC MP |
WGC Inv |
WGC Cha |
BMW PGA |
Ita | Fra | Ire | Sco | Tur | Ned | DPW TC |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Reg. points |
Bon. ($) |
Total points | |||||||||
| 1 | Molinari |
T20 | T25 | 1st | T6 | T25 | 17th | T39 | T43 | 1st | 2nd | • | • | • | • | • | T26 | 12 | 4,791,521 | 1,250,000 | 6,041,521 | |||||||||||
| 2 |  Reed |
1st | 4th | T28 | CUT | T37 | T9 | T28 | T7 | • | • | • | • | T23 | • | • | T2 | T9 | 11 | 3,963,351 | 750,000 | 4,713,351 | ||||||||||
| 3 | Fleetwood |
T17 | 2nd | T12 | T35 | T14 | T17 | T14 | T7 | T20 | T23 | CUT | • | • | T7 | • | T16 | 6th | 1st | T6 | T2 | T9 | 19 | 3,799,755 | 600,000 | 4,399,755 | ||||||
| 4 | Schauffele |
T50 | T6 | T2 | T35 | T18 | T17 | 68th | 1st | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | T16 | 9 | 3,207,488 | 400,000 | 3,607,488 | |||||||||||
| 5 | Rose |
T12 | T10 | T2 | T19 | T37 | • | • | T3 | • | • | • | • | T9 | 1st | • | • | T10 | 8th | 11 | 3,431,616 | (500,000)[lower-alpha 4] | 3,431,616 | |||||||||
| 6 | Norén |
CUT | T25 | T17 | CUT | T14 | 3rd | T31 | T18 | T3 | T23 | 1st | • | • | • | • | T9 | 12 | 3,001,488 | 350,000 | 3,351,488 | |||||||||||
| 7 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} McIlroy |
T5 | CUT | T2 | T50 | • | T36 | T6 | T54 | T2 | • | • | T28 | • | • | T21 | T20 | T3 | 2nd | 13 | 2,990,654 | 325,000 | 3,315,654 | |||||||||
| 8 |  Olesen |
• | CUT | T12 | T56 | • | • | T3 | T7 | T60 | 1st | CUT | T6 | • | T7 | • | T45 | 10th | T2 | 4th | 27 | 2,923,149 | 300,000 | 3,223,149 | ||||||||
| 9 |  Li |
T32 | T16 | T39 | WD | 63rd | T59 | T39 | T11 | T43 | T19 | T21 | CUT | T23 | 2nd | T5 | T30 | 1st | T5 | T9 | 27 | 2,843,291 | 275,000 | 3,118,291 | ||||||||
| 10 | Wallace |
• | CUT | CUT | • | • | • | • | T50 | T20 | T51 | CUT | CUT | CUT | T47 | T5 | T2 | 1st | T3 | 1st | 1st | 32 | 2,637,527 | 250,000 | 2,887,527 | |||||||
• Did not play
Awards
Notes
- The number in brackets after each winner's name is the number of European Tour events they had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for European Tour members.
- AFR − Sunshine Tour; ANZ − PGA Tour of Australasia; ASA − Asian Tour.
- Sunshine Tour flagship event
- By missing the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, Rose was not eligible for the bonus pool.
References
- "European Tour reveals changes for 2018 season". Bunkered. 14 November 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
- "2018 Tournament schedule". European Tour. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
- "Race to Dubai Rankings". European Tour. 18 November 2018. Archived from the original on 24 November 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
- Jackson, Keith (18 November 2018). "Francesco Molinari savours winning Race to Dubai in career-best year". Sky Sports. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
- "Francesco Molinari named 2018 Hilton European Tour Golfer of the Year". Today's Golfer. 11 December 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
- "Irish Open champ Rahm receives Seve Ballesteros Award". Irish Golfer. 20 February 2020. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
Ahead of the WGC-Mexico Championship, the 2018 Seve Ballesteros Award winner Francesco Molinari presented Rahm with the trophy...
- "Golfer Shubhankar Sharma wins Rookie of the year honours". The Times of India. 18 November 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
- "Van Rooyen wins Graduate award". Compleat Golfer. 20 November 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2023.